Healthy Mixed Berry Crisp

Hi! I just got back to Raleigh after being out of town for the past 5 weeks, spending most of that time in Arkansas for an internship. On my drive home, I stopped for a few days in Atlanta and my next post will be all about Atlanta adventures. For now, though, I wanted to share a recipe for this healthy mixed berry crisp before summer’s over!

I came up with the recipe while I was housesitting for my grandparents in Arkansas. I wanted to use some of my free time to bake and test a few recipes for the blog, but I was the only one there to eat the things I made. What a dilemma, right? 😉 The berry crisp turned out even better than I expected, and after several days of eating it all by myself in Arkansas, I’m actually planning to make it again for a family dinner tomorrow night.

I used inspiration from a few other recipes to come up with my recipe for this summer-y, healthy mixed berry crisp. For the filling, it’s just berries, lemon juice, and cornstarch. I actually found organic cornstarch in the bulk bins at Whole Foods, which is a plus if you have a WF nearby and don’t want to have buy an entire box of cornstarch that’ll end up sitting around in your pantry.

For the topping, it’s oats, almond meal, pecans, cinnamon, butter or coconut oil, and just a dash of maple syrup or honey instead of sugar. I used coconut oil and added coconut chips to the topping, which is totally optional, but it’s a fun twist on traditional berry crisp if you’re a fan of coconut.

Since berries are so naturally sweet, especially when baked, there’s no need to add extra sweetener to them. They also have a wide range of healthy benefits, which you can check out in this post about blueberries from Foodal.

To make the crisp, I mixed the filling ingredients together in a medium bowl, added them to my baking dish, and then used the same bowl to mix together the crumb topping ingredients. After 10 minutes and using just one bowl and spoon, the berry crisp was ready for the oven.

The filling is naturally sweet and juicy, the topping is crunchy and delicious, and there’s no refined sugar in the whole dessert. As much as I sometimes tend to turn my nose up at “healthy” desserts (i.e. applesauce substituted for oil in chocolate cake), berry crisp lends itself very well to healthy adaptations and you’d never know that this one’s on the healthier side. It’s not a low-calorie recipe by any means, but it’s made with all real ingredients.

I loved topping my healthy mixed berry crisp with homemade whipped coconut cream, but of course, regular homemade whipped cream or ice cream would also be wonderful. When served warm, the berry crisp slowly melts the ice cream or coconut cream on top and it’s just incredible. Hope you love it as much as I did (do!)

If you try out the recipe, feel free to let me know in a comment or take a picture and tag me @livbane on Instagram. Hope you enjoy!

In a medium bowl, mix together berries, lemon juice and cornstarch. Add to buttered or greased 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish.

In the same bowl, mix together oats, pecans, almond meal, coconut flakes or chips, cinnamon, butter or coconut oil, and maple syrup or honey. Mix until mixture comes together and add to top of baking dish.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top has lightly browned and the filling is beginning to thicken. Let rest for 15-20 minutes before serving to allow the filling to thicken. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Recipe Notes

*If using frozen berries, increase cornstarch to 4 tablespoons to account for the extra liquid the berries will release during cooking.

**I bought just the right amount of organic cornstarch in the bulk bins at Whole Foods for something like $.20.

This looks super fresh and delicious! I also love that you didn’t use raspberries because while I loveee strawberries and blueberries, I really don’t like raspberries for whatever reason 😛 I can’t wait to hear all about your Atlanta adventures, Liv!Claire @ My Pink & Green Life recently posted…Travel: Lake Huron, Forest, Ontario {Part 2}

This looks delicious! I have been taking advantage of all the fresh fruits this summer so this will be the perfect thing to make 🙂 🙂Brie @ Lean, Clean, & Brie recently posted…What I Eat in a Day at Work

Looking at this is making me go, ‘Oh boy, oh boy…’ Cause fruit desserts have a really special place in my heart. I love pies and crisps with ALL The real ingredients plus icecream? It’s amazing, because fruit lends so much sugar to a recipe that it doesn’t really need any extra. God made all these cool forms of sugar. Fruit is one of my favorites. 🙂 And Liv, you just always blow me away with your delicious descriptions and incredible looking recipes.Emily recently posted…My Cup Is Full When It Should Be Empty

I love crisps! Pinning this for a nice weekend breakfast/brunch. I love how you did it in one bowl – that totally motivates me even more. Lots of bowls to clean is not fun!Sarah @ BucketListTummy recently posted…Day in the Life

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Welcome!

Hi there, I’m Liv! I started blogging during my first year of college at UNC-Chapel Hill to share recipes easy enough for a dorm kitchen. Thankfully, I’m no longer cooking in a dorm, but my goal is still to share simple, delicious recipes that don’t take too much of your time. Most often, you can find me running, eating ice cream, and making a mess in my kitchen. Read more…